Give The World A Shot – Expedia Group & UNICEF USA
In the summer of 2021, UNICEF USA and Expedia Group and its family of brands – including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, ebookers and CheapTickets – partnered with the shared goal of accelerating the equitable roll out of COVID-19 vaccines.
At that time, less than 1% of the global supply of COVID vaccines was being delivered to low-income countries. The partnership between Expedia, one of the world’s leading full-service online travel brands, and UNICEF USA, which advances the mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children, dovetailed on this project, known as Give the World a Shot. It aimed to help safely re-open the world “one trip and one shot at a time.”
From August 5 to September 5, 2021, each booking made via Expedia’s mobile apps resulted in a $2 donation by Expedia to UNICEF’s COVID-19 response. Expedia committed to donating at least $10 million and enlisted the support of its brands and customers.
The Give the World a Shot campaign helped raise awareness of vaccine equity, engaged Expedia Group’s customer base, and raised more than $10.5 million. Furthermore, media impressions across Expedia Group’s social media platforms exceeded 15 million.
Even after the campaign ended on September 5, Expedia continued to encourage employees and customers to donate to UNICEF USA, which saw more than 8,300 new visitors to its donation form within a few days of the campaign’s end. Additionally, Expedia CEO Peter Kern urged others in the travel industry to help the cause, through an open letter, which is still yielding results for UNICEF USA, raising awareness of the issue and helping to work for a solution to this global pandemic.
